The Masked Singer Hits 50-Country Mark

South Korea’s MBC has sold its format megahit The Masked Singer into 50 countries worldwide.

The singing-competition format first bowed in South Korea as King of the Masked Singer in 2015 and premiered on FOX in the U.S in January 2019. Recorded as the highest-rated show on U.S network TV in 2019, as well as the highest-rated unscripted debut in more than 7 years, FOX has commissioned a third season, which is set to air next month.

The show has also earned high ratings in Thailand, Mexico, Australia, France, Germany, Portugal, the U.K. and some 20 more countries worldwide. The Masked Singer Germany garnered a total of 9 million viewers on ProSieben, with a 38.1-percent share of the target audience watching the finale of the show’s first season. That was the best prime-time rating for a ProSieben show ever.

The Masked Singer Australia has become a breakout hit for Network Ten, following its debut in September 2019, which aired to over 1 million viewers nationally and recorded the highest ratings for any new program for Network Ten in five years. The most recent megahit was The Masked Singer UK, which premiered January 4 on ITV, drawing an average audience of 5.5 million viewers and topping BBC’s The Greatest Danger by ratings.

“The Masked Singer is currently making a victory train around the world and we are going to offer our viewers this unique experience in 2020,” said Fredrik Arefalk, channel manager at TV4 Sweden. TV4 is expecting the debut of the show in Sweden in 2020.

The format sees celebrities perform songs in masks and costumes that disguise their true identity, and it’s up to the show’s judges and viewers to guess who they are. The disguised celebrities battle it out through the show, and those who do not make it to the next round lift the masks to reveal their true identities.

Hyun-Ho Park, managing director of business at MBC, commented, “Music show is favored by audiences of all generations and race, but the worldwide success of The Masked Singer lies in something that is beyond music. International producers are drawn not only to the musical authenticity which the show creates, but also to the fact that the format of this show stimulates curiosity and derives suspense.”